75%PlayStation 3

Audio-visual: 7 Gameplay: 8 Story: 7 Enjoyment: 7

75%PlayStation 3

Great game! Only concern is the loading times.

95%PlayStation 3

Childhood game, people say its the worse in the franchise but i think its my favourite. Love this game

70%Emulated

7.2/10

70%PlayStation 3

What did they do.

70%PlayStation 5

Pretty good. Maybe the best in the series.

80%PlayStation Vita

Haven't played the other games in the series and played this one growing up so my opinion may be invalid. Regardless, it's a great Vita game.

100%PlayStation 3

This is the first sly cooper game that is handled by a different studio but they did a good job of it. The writers stayed true to the original characters and included others that are likable and prove fun to play. The switch in art style was a little strange to me at first after I played the original trilogy, but it quickly grew on me and I would say it's an improvement over its predecessors. Even going after all of the collectibles is a fun experience.

80%PlayStation 3

INCOMING SLY 3 SPOILERS; READER BEWARE

Did Sly Cooper really need a fourth game? Sly 3 left the game without much loose ends to tie up, and the concept was pushed about as far as one could hope. But I guess Sony saw enough money to still be made with the property that Sanzaru was commissioned to make an official sequel. The result is one of the most divisive games you will ever see.

Sly 4 takes place after the end. Carmelita and Sly are now together and the trio has disbanded, but when the Thievius Raccoonus begins suddenly fading away, Bentley concludes someone must be messing with time and brings the band back together. Now armed with a time machine, the gang goes back in time to prevent the villains from causing chaos in the first place.

Gameplay wise, Sly 4 is very on point with the previous entries. If one has to give Sanzaru credit for where it came closest to the prior games, it's definitely here, as the controls are just as smooth as ever before and the structure is very similar. Since time travel is the unifying theme here, each world takes place in a different time period, in which the villain has run rampant and wrecked history.

The biggest gimmick that sets the game apart from its predecessors is the ancestor mechanic. See, in each time period, one of Sly's ancestors will be there, but instead of being the master thief he was expected to be, he will instead be found a failure and suffering a much worse fate. You will at some point come face to face with him and recruit him as part of your team. Each ancestor plays very similarly to Sly, with one special ability that will be needed throughout the world. I liked the characters themselves fine, but their actual gameplay, save for the second one, felt a little tacked on. Their special abilities amounted to gimmicks at best that didn't fundamentally change how the game was played. Still, they shake things up pretty well and they play like Sly closely enough so I appreciate the attempt.

The story and world building is where people really have a bone to pick, and is what makes or breaks this game for many. Personally, the ancestors were definitely the highlight. They weren't just Sly but with different period personalities, they actually felt like their own unique characters. The second and fourth ancestors were especially highlights to me. I also thought the comedy remained just as on point as ever; some complained it felt too forced but I thought a lot of it really hit the mark.

There are some things hard to ignore though. First off, the way Sly and Carmelita treat each other in this game really rubbed me the wrong way, with Sly being really brash and Carmelita unable to be reasoned with. In addition, without giving anything away, there is a point in the game that is extremely divisive, and I concur that it was pulled off very poorly and hard to swallow. And even if you haven't played the game, you most likely know the way it ends as well, which I also agree is a real sore point on the writing. Again, not going to give anything away, but it's a pretty sore mark.

As far as the gameplay goes, I did mention the control is just as good as ever and all the mechanics from the past games were flawlessly translated to here. That said, one thing I wish they hadn't done was that a few minigames utilize Sixaxis motion control. It's very tacked on and unneeded. Also, Carmelita is extremely underutilized in this game which feels like total wasted potential. Minor complaint, but I also didn't like how Sly's ancestors didn't have access to the Theifnet upgrades for Sly despite playing the same way as him.

The overall story is what really knocks this game back into falling short of the original trilogy's strengths. I commend the developers for avoiding the usual pitfalls of just stuffing a new installment of a series with unneeded gimmicks, and the gameplay here is still fantastic. If you need another Sly Cooper game, then give it a shot; just make sure you're here for the gameplay rather than the story. All that said, I don't think this game deserves the bad reputation it gets, and I have seen far more offensive attempts at franchise revivals, so try to give it the benefit of the doubt and you may find yourself having fun.

60%PlayStation 3

Good but unnecessary game for franchise. Looks like soft reboot. I believe children would like it.

80%PlayStation 3

Second Best in the Series, love the new graphics, the other playable Characters and there abilities and just fun missions all around.

90%PlayStation 3

It captures what made Sly 2 so good. Only bad things about this game is shitty completion requirements and cliffhanger for which we still don't have a sequel.

80%PlayStation 3

Had a great time playing this game. This was my first time playing Sly 4 -- wished I played it sooner. Felt just as great as the originals and I hope that the franchise will be revisited in the future.

80%PlayStation 3

Good game, pretty biased opinion since I speedrun this game, but I never 100% it. Map trophy is complete garbage. ty

80%PlayStation 3

Sly Cooper Thieves in Time aka Sly 4 is a pretty good follow up to the PS2 games. It starts out incredibly strong but gets a little worse as it goes along. It's still probably my favorite in the series but only by a hair. The first real area, Japan, really blew me away. The beautiful HD visuals blended with the much-improved level design to pull me in. Most of the peripheral characters from Sly 3 were thrown out in favor of Sly's ancestors and some new costumes for Sly that are more interesting and give you more time as Sly, which is great because he's always been the best character. Add to that some modern improvements like a better compass and warping back to the hideout after a mission and it all clicked for me. For the first time, I saw the light of Sly 2's formula and was having a blast.

Unfortunately, the cracks started to show around halfway through and it only got worse from there. The excellent level design of the first area fades a bit, with the 3rd and 5th areas being giant, repetitive mazes. Sly's ancestors and the new Sly costumes are cool but you quickly realize that most are one-trick ponies whose one-trick you can only use in very contextual situations. The ancestors don't feel different enough from Sly either so I think they should have rolled the costume abilities into the ancestors to make them stand out more.

There's thankfully an upgrade to help you find the bottles (a big issue I had with Sly 2) but there isn't one to help you with the treasure and masks so those still require a guide... I know a lot of people hate this game for its story. I enjoy Sly's story but it's not a major selling point for me, and I thought the story in 4 was fine... with the glaring exception of the 4th area, which contains some awful character-assassination and is just mean-spirited. To cap all that, Sly 4's final area and boss are embarrassments that feel like they were made in a weekend. The game should have just ended in the fifth area, this last level really left a bad taste in my mouth.

Sly 4 is a good game. It keeps everything that worked from Sly 2 and 3, while sanding off their rough edges and improving other areas. Unfortunately, a lack of consistency through the game holds it back from greatness.

80%PlayStation 3

85

70%PlayStation 3

I still prefer the OG trilogy but I wish there where more sly games!

70%PlayStation 3

A much less enjoyable entry than Sly 2 and 3
The mini games are less interesting, characters are hit or miss and it recycles a lot of ideas from the PS2 trilogy
Also, of course, that cliffhanger ending was a big meh

70%PlayStation 3

Decent story, overall a little rough around the edges

80%PlayStation 3

It's not often that you find a game with this much attention to detail. Especially for a kid's game from a developer with relatively few games under their belt. Sanzaru really nabs the Sly feel and delivers one of the best, if not THE best, installments in the series. Awesome music, breathtaking use of cel-shaded graphics, and some of the most polished gameplay I've had the luxury of playing.

50%PlayStation 3

57%

50%PlayStation Vita

57%

70%PlayStation 3

Felt like game was padded with stuff that wasn't essential to the game; not the collectables, more about the abilities. Worse was finding collectables w/o in-game help but w/ online videos.

90%PlayStation 3

The only reason it did not get 100% is because of the loading times and the mini games

90%PlayStation 3

The best Sly Game yet

80%PlayStation Vita

I think this may have been my favorite of the series. The missions had a good variety to them, and the ancestors all had unique skills to change things up. Some of the mini-games were not my cup of tea (rely on motion control on vita), but they were infrequent enough not to distract from the experience. If you are looking for a sold all-ages platformer, this is a good bet. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but few fourth games in franchises do so.

90%PlayStation Vita

I will only give it a 9 because I played it in PsVita and I really felt a bit o lack of care in some parts of the game for the portable. For example, when I'm playing the short scenes translated to my country, the voice doesn't match the characters movements a lot of times. And more important, the quality of the videos when in short scenes is really bad sometimes.
Despite of these problems, the rest of the game looks and feels really great

80%No Platform Specified

What’s perhaps most striking about playing a Sly Cooper game late in the PS3 generation is how it proves that the brand itself is still relevant, as is the mascot-based 3D platformer. While similar PlayStation series like Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank have either disappeared entirely or gone in new and strange directions respectively, the fourth Sly Cooper game is true to itself. The decision to remain true to what made Sly great in the first place is daring in an age where the 3D platformer can come off as a dinosaur.

Sure, Sly 4 has ridiculous load times, occasionally frustrating gameplay and some bizarre, archaic motion controls, but don’t let that deter you: Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is a worthy game to add to your library on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. It does so many things right and harkens back to a different time in gaming while modernizing the experience for a new generation. It may not wow you like some of the best PlayStation exclusives have in the past, but needless to say, the wait for a continuation of the Sly saga was officially worth it.